The Salesians of northeast India provinces (Guwahati and Dimapur) have come up with an ambitious film project to mark Don Bosco Relics Pilgrimage (DBRP) India scheduled for May to November. Besides, the SDB provinces of Dimapur and Guwahati, two other major institutions of Guwahati (DB Institute of Management & Bosco Reach-Out) have joined as co-producers of the docufilm entitled “The Hand of Don Bosco” (The Hand). Commenting on the relic of Don Bosco’s right hand encased in the casket going around the world, Guwahati province priest film director of award winning Kokborok feature films Mathia and Yarwng, Fr Joseph Pulinthanath asks, “Why not mark this occasion with a film on the Hand of DB! – What it did during his lifetime and what the hand of DB through the hands of his Salesians continues to do in the world, particularly in this part of India…Blessing, praying, caring, healing, working, building, comforting, supporting etc.”The 28 minute film is scheduled to be released on May 1, the first day of DBRP India, at Imphal, capital of Manipur. “It is the town that perhaps best signifies today the Turin of yore-like youth situation of Northeast India”, ruminates the 2010 national film award winner and film director Fr Pulinthanath.Agartala (Tripura) based Fr Pulinthanath briefed the leadership of Salesian northeast India provinces (Guwahati and Dimapur) on the progress of the film project, 11 March. Fr. V.M. Thomas, director of DB Institute of Management Studies that co-produces the work wants the film to underscore the special relationship the region has with the saint. “The name Don Bosco is etched indelibly on the psyche of the people of northeast. It has become part of their genes. The Hand film is a tribute to Don Bosco and to the people of Northeast India.” Director of Bosco Reach-Out, Fr. Johnson Parackal, another co-producer of ‘The Hand’ said he extended support to the venture thinking of the miracles Don Bosco’s hand has “wrought in the lives of the people of Northeast by alleviating poverty and liberating the marginalized.”He hoped the film would be a celebration of the “the marvels the Almighty has done” in this region through the hand of Don Bosco during these past almost 90 years, since 1922 when the first band of Salesians arrived.“The Hand” technical crew from different parts of India is expected to reach Northeast on March 26 and the shoot is scheduled for March 26 to April 6. The crew includes another award winning director and chief cameraman, Fr. Jiji Kalavanal from the southern Indian state of Kerala. Director of Don Bosco Youth Centre, Itanagar, Fr. Cyriac Pulinthanthumalayil, is the production logistics coordinator of ‘The Hand’. The post production works of ‘The Hand’ would begin soon after the shoot in the northeast, at Don BoscoIMAGE, a media production and training centre at Kochi.